A green turtle returning to the ocean after treatment. Photo courtesy of the New England Aquarium
ORLEANS – Cold stunning season is coming soon for Cape Cod Bay. Orleans police have issued warnings about turtles that can wash ashore as water temperatures drop.
The animals will be transferred to the New England Aquarium’s turtle rehabilitation hospital for treatment and will be released in the spring.
Officials urge beachgoers who find stunned turtles to move them above the high tide line and cover them with dry seaweed, then call Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary which manages collection efforts. They can be reached at (508) 349 2615 ext. 6104.
As temperatures in the Bay hit 50 degrees, more and more sea turtles will become weak and unable to swim before washing ashore on inner beaches. Where they wash up is largely due to winds.
For more on Mass Audubon’s programs, including volunteer opportunities and turtle rescue operations, click here.
Correction 10/31/2024: A previous version of this article erroneously stated that two turtles had already washed up on beaches cold stunned. A Mass Audubon official said while some turtles have been brought in, none have been classified as cold stuns yet and either had other injuries or were picked up from the water, not from the beach. The picture of a green sea turtle above was also mislabeled as a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.
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